Concerns and Complaints Handling Policy and Procedure

 

We hope that our service levels remain consistently high not to warrant any concerns or complaints. We are proud of our record of serving our national and international client base since 1997 and we will strive to maintain and improve standards continually.

In the event that a client has any concerns or wishes to make a formal complaint, we outline our policy and procedure below.

Hamraj Kang, a senior solicitor and a Director of Kangs Solicitors is the person with overall responsibility for dealing with any concerns or complaints made about the firm (formerly referred to as the Designated Complaints Handler).

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients.  If something goes wrong or concerns you about us or our service then we need you to tell us about it.  This will help us to improve our standards. We endeavor to deal with concerns directly with a client without invoking a formal complaints policy. However, if the issue is such that it should properly be dealt with as a complaint, or you wish it to be treated as such, then we follow the procedure set out in this policy.

 

Our Complaints Procedure

 

If you have a concern or complaint, please contact the fee earner dealing with your case.

 

What will happen next?

 

• The fee earner will investigate your complaint and reply to you in a timely manner.
• If you are not satisfied with the response received from the fee earner handling your matter, you can write to Hamraj Kang who is the firm’s complaints manager. His contact details are hkang@kangssolicitors.co.uk.
• We will send you a letter / e-mail acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three working days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
• We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve Hamraj Kang reviewing your matter file and speaking to the member of staff who acted for you. If for any reason it should be inappropriate for Hamraj Kang to deal with the matter, then another Senior Solicitor within the firm will do so and follow this policy, keeping you informed.
• Following this investigation, we will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including our suggestions for resolving the matter, within 21 days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
• At this stage, if you are still not satisfied, you should contact us again and we will arrange for another Senior Solicitor in the firm, unconnected with the matter, to review the decision.
• We will write to you within 21 days of receiving your request for a review, confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining our reasons.
• If we have not provided a final response to a complaint within eight weeks of it being made you have the right to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.
• If we are unable to resolve your complaint then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about service issues with lawyers.
• From the 1 April 2023 the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.
• The Legal Ombudsman contact details are, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ, tel: 0300 555 0333, website legalombudsman.org.uk, E-mail  enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.
• Alternative complaints bodies (such as Ombudsman Services, https://www.ombudsman-services.org) exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. However, we do not agree to use such services as the Ombudsman Services instead leaving all final resolution decisions to The Legal Ombudsman.
• In the event that your complaint relates to anything other than poor service, then you may choose to report a solicitor or the firm to the SRA. The SRA works with lawyers, non-lawyers and firms to ensure that they comply with the SRA principles. You may use the SRA website https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor/, email report@sra.org.uk or you can post a report to Solicitors Regulatory Authority, The Cube, 199 Wharfside Street, Birmingham, B1 1RN.
• If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.